


This Is A Joke, Right?

by BakaPandy



Category: Free!
Genre: Bodyswap, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:25:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4854593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BakaPandy/pseuds/BakaPandy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke and Makoto aren't quite themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter to the body swap fic! I actually have no idea how I'm going to resolve this so I'll just leave this here for now...I'm working on the rest but I have to ponder some more.
> 
> This is based off of the comic I drew which you can see here:  
> http://bakapandy.tumblr.com/post/129508071418/an-anon-once-gave-me-the-idea-of-a-mindbody-swap
> 
> and it's sequel here:  
> http://bakapandy.tumblr.com/post/129544625893/evidently-i-have-no-self-control-sequel-to-this

When Sousuke woke up that morning, he was staring up at a decidedly unfamiliar ceiling. Frowning, he shut his eyes once more and thought hard to the night before wondering if something had happened. Yet he couldn’t recall anything out of the ordinary. He had gone to sleep in his dorm room, Rin cramped up against him in the bottom bunk, just as usual. He blinked his eyes open again and became aware of the warm weight on top of him, but it wasn’t one he knew well. It was significantly lighter…and there were too many limbs. Far too many limbs. Sousuke stiffened when looked down the length of his body to see two young children, middle school age at most, sprawled in various states of slumber on top of him. Panic struck through him like electricity and he fought every urge to bolt. White noise crackled through his mind as he frantically thought _How the fuck did I end up in bed with a couple of kids?_ He took a deep breath in an attempt to slow his racing heart and to bring some kind, any kind, of relief to the panic gnawing at him. But the expansion of his chest caused one small head, long hair tangled and knotted around delicate features, to nuzzled against him. The young girl lifted her head and rubbed sleepily at half lidded eyes.

“Good morning, Onii-chan.” She mumbled through a yawn.

Sousuke didn’t trust himself to speak.

 

* * *

 

 

“Mmm…” Makoto hummed at the light warming his face, pulling him from the depths of his unconsciousness. It was warm in the room and the oppressive weight rested heavily on top of him made it even more so. He brought up a hand to rub lazily at his eye, wiping away the night’s crust with a yawn, and blinked up at what was definitely not his bedroom ceiling. The apprehension that immediately rose up within him only exploded into pure terror when his eyes fell on a distinctive mop of red hair tucked against his chest. Before he could stop himself, he let out a horrified screech that immediately jolted the body against him awake and off of him. The resounding clang followed by a colorful stream of curses when Rin hit his head on the bed frame of the top bunk did little to alleviate the panic washing over Makoto.

“WHAT THE FUCK, SOUSUKE?!?” Rin snarled, doubled over as he held his head in pain. The name that ripped from Rin’s lips only made the dread in Makoto’s chest increase a hundred fold. He recoiled, frozen in shock as he stared at Rin recovering from the blow to his head. “Sousuke! What the fuck was that about?!?” Rin bit out again, seething with rage, as he demanded an explanation.

“R-Rin…?” The name came out in barely a whisper, timid and terrified. Rin immediately looked up at that, the anger lighting his eyes flickering to confusion then concern.

“Sousuke?” Rin tried again more gently, apprehensive. “What’s wrong?” Everything was wrong, Makoto thought frantically. Everything was wrong from the position he was in to the name falling from Rin’s lips.

“R-Rin…” Makoto finally breathed, suddenly aware that the voice coming from him was too deep, too gruff, “I’m not Sousuke…”

 

* * *

 

 

Sousuke’s grip on the lip of the sink basin tightened. He had managed to escape the bedroom without uttering a word, barely glimpsed the confused and upset look from the little girl, and fled into the hall. The boy, whom he had assumed was her brother, had remained asleep, thankfully. To his luck, the first door that stood ajar lead to the bathroom and he had locked himself inside, mind racing. Sousuke glowered at his reflection. The face staring back at him had eyes that were too green, almost obscured by hair too long and too light. Lips that were too full drew into a thin line, curving down into a hard frown he knew had no business replacing its usual smile on the angled planes of the face. There was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Makoto?” A kind voice called from the hall. “Are you alright? Ran came running in saying you were acting strange.” Sousuke knew he had to reply.

“I’m fine.” he all but snapped, the voice coming from him too high for his taste. But he winced immediately in regret. Directing his anger at the poor woman wouldn’t do anyone good. “I’m sorry.” He apologized, softer, timbering his voice to take on that gentle tone he tried to recall. “I’m just…not feeling well.” It was a lame excuse, so he prayed that the woman wouldn’t pry. There was a brief silence.

“Alright.” She said gently, eliciting a sigh of relief from Sousuke. “Let me know if you need anything, I’ll make you some porridge.” Before he could protest, the footsteps had already diminished. Sousuke sighed again and ran a hand through hair that wasn’t his and looked at his reflection once more. The sight of Makoto’s body taking on Sousuke’s posture and visage was an odd one that unsettled Sousuke to his core. Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his shoulders, briefly noticing that the pain that always lingered on his right was no longer there, and schooled his expression to a neutral mien. Better, he thought, though it still wasn’t quite right. But when he attempted that overly sweet smile he had gotten to know over the past few months whether he wanted to or not, it was far too forced and too strained and looked more like a grimace. Sousuke clicked his tongue in irritation. Neutral expression it is.

 

* * *

 

 

“This a fucking joke right. Because if you’re joking, Sousuke, I’m going to be pissed. This isn’t funny.”

“Rin!” Makoto bemoaned, dragging his hands down the face that felt nothing like his in despair. “I’m honestly, truly not joking! It’s me, Makoto! I have no idea what happened or how I ended up here in…in…in Sousuke’s body, but it’s true!” Rin stared at him with a look of bewilderment crossed with horror, and if Makoto told the truth, a smidge of disgust.

“Don’t do that.” Rin deadpanned.

“What?” Makoto replied reflexively.

“ _That._ ” Rin emphasized, gesturing at Makoto’s face. “Using Sousuke’s face to…to…”

“…Be me?” Makoto supplied helpfully with a timid shrug. Rin only glared before raking a hand roughly through his hair, ending to pinch the knot on his brow.

“Let me get this straight.” He muttered through gritted teeth, “Somehow, in some absurd way, you and Mako-I mean Sousuke switched bodies. Are you sure you didn’t just hit your head too hard, somehow?” The last question was tilted with tinge of desperation.

“I wish that was the case, Rin.” Makoto sighed.

“So is there a chance that Sousuke is actually in your body?” Makoto rubbed the back of his neck, and shrugged.  
“I have no clue, Rin.” Rin clicked his tongue in annoyance before grabbing Makoto’s, or rather, Sousuke’s, wrist to drag him out of the dorm room.

“Then I guess we have no choice but to go find out.”

 

* * *

 

 

Makoto’s room had thankfully been emptied by the time Sousuke slipped back into it. The plan was to leave the house as unnoticed as possible and to find Rin immediately. At the very least, he’d have some sort of action plan. But first he had to find a change of clothes. Sousuke opened the closet and grimaced openly at the atrocious array of bright colors. He had never really noticed before, but thinking back to the few times he had seen Makoto out of his school uniform, the man did have a rather questionable fashion sense. He rifled through the shirts and pants, careful not to displace anything too much, and picked out an outfit that he felt assaulted his eyes the least. He had just finished buckling the belt (careful to mind Makoto’s modesty as best as he could. Sousuke preferred not to think about the more intimate aspects of the whole experience) when the bedroom door burst open and a blur tackled his middle with a loud cry of “Onii-chan!” The forced hadn’t been much but Sousuke had been caught so off guard that he stumbled backwards slightly. “Onii-chan!” cried the child again, whom Sousuke recognized as the boy of the pair of kids from before. “You didn’t wake me this morning! You’re ALWAYS the one to wake me up!” It was just then that Sousuke finally recalled Makoto mention in passing the existence of twin younger siblings. He couldn’t, however, remember their names. The woman from before had mentioned the girl’s, Sousuke was sure, but he had been so distracted by his situation, he couldn’t recall it. Unsure about how to respond to the whining child clinging to him, he hesitantly brought a hand to pat awkwardly on the boy’s head.

“I’m…sorry…” he apologized cautiously. The boy gave a loud sniff before looking up at him with large watery eyes, mouth open as if to say something when,

“Ren!” Sousuke and the boy both looked over to see the girl standing with her hands on her hips at the doorway. “Onii-chan is sick! Momma said not to bother him!” The boy, Ren, sniffled again and looked back at Sousuke for a moment before pulling away.

“Onii-chan is sick?” He asked, eyes wide in worry. Sousuke hesitated.

“That-“  
“That’s right, Ren!” The girl cut in. “And I’m going to help Momma take care of Onii-chan, so you should go away.”

“Ran!” Ren whined in distressed anger. “That’s not fair! I want to take care of Onii-chan, too!” Sousuke’s fought desperately to keep his face neutral but all the whining and crying was beginning to give him a headache. It finally made sense how Makoto appeared to have an endless reserve of patience. The siblings continued to fight until Sousuke finally moved to walk out the door.  
“Onii-chan!” Ran cried. “Where are you going? Momma said you should rest!”  
“I’m going out.” Sousuke said, struggling to keep irritation from his tone. “To uh…get some fresh air. I’ll be fine.” And he went about finding the exit to the house.

To his credit, Sousuke didn’t end up getting as lost as he had expected. It taken only the second turn before he found the house’s entranceway, lined with an array of shoes of varying size. He selected a pair of sneakers he only remembered Makoto wearing because he had noticed it was the same brand he wore. He exited the house as quickly as possible.

 

* * *

 

Rin clicked his tongue in irritation as he glared at his cell phone. “Goddamn it, Haru, why don’t you ever keep your phone on you.” Makoto sighed in defeat, slouching in his seat on the train beside Rin. When the adrenaline of the whole situation had worn off, he finally become aware of a persistent pain that throbbed dully in his shoulder. “And it’s not like your phone’s working either.” Rin continued, “Sousuke probably didn’t pick it up, the bastard.” Rin jabbed violently at the number pads to fire off what was probably the twentieth text to Haru. “Knowing Sousuke, he’d probably wander out and get himself lost. And then we’d have to go find him and it’d take all of eternity to figure out this mess.” His voice trailed off into dark incoherent muttering. Meanwhile, Makoto lamented quietly about how exactly they’d get this situation fixed. It was so absurd that this all must really be a bad dream. “Stop that.” Makoto jolted at Rin’s tone.

“W-Wha-“

“Stop making him look so pathetic. Sousuke never looks pathetic.” Makoto recoiled into himself.

“You think I’m pathetic?” Rin blinked at him then looked away with another click of his tongue.

“That’s not what I meant, Makoto.” There was a brief silence between them. “I’m sorry.” Rin apologized, wringing his hands. “I’m just stressed out by this whole ordeal. And seeing him make an expression like that even though I know it isn’t him, I…never mind. I didn’t mean to insult you.” Makoto couldn’t help but smile.

“You really love him, don’t you?” The way Rin whipped around to stare wide eyed at him looked almost painful. Makoto watched red creep up Rin’s neck to stain his cheeks enough to rival his hair. He let out a laugh as Rin grit his teeth in embarrassment.

“Goddamn you, Makoto, making him smile and laugh like that with his stupid face and his stupid voice.” Makoto indulged him once more and let out another laugh.

 

* * *

 

It really was absurd to believe Sousuke would know where to go when he exited the house. Gritting his teeth he turn towards the only plausible way at that moment: a set of stairs winding down the hillside to the main road. He had barely stepped onto the first set of stairs when,

“Makoto.” Sousuke almost didn’t react, but in the split second remembered that he _was_ Makoto at for the time being. Sousuke knew that voice and he dreaded it, but he turned anyway to face Haru’s ever-present bland expression as he stood at the platform one level above him. Sousuke bit back the annoyance rising within him. Though he and Haru no longer harbored any real animosity towards each other, Sousuke had little patience left from the morning to deal with Haru’s antics.

“Haru.” He chose to greet politely, albeit a bit curtly. A flash of shock flitted across Haru’s face, lips curving ever so slightly into a frown. Sousuke knew his cover was blown, not that he was doing much to maintain it.

“Makoto, what’s wrong?” Haru asked easily as he stepped towards him to reach his level. Sousuke heaved a sigh and took a half step back when Haru suddenly entered his personal space.

“Everything is wrong. Do you have your phone, I’ll explain it to you then.” Haru was outright frowning at him now, eyebrows pulled into a knot over his prominently blue eyes. _Clear as water_. Sousuke distantly recalled Rin saying. Without another word, Haru took out his phone and handed it to Sousuke. Sousuke took it and almost clicked his tongue when he found that it was turned off. He sighed darkly, ignoring Haru’s penetrating stare at him, and pressed the power button. The screen blinked to life, played a brief opening animation, before it settled on a plain home screen. Then suddenly, there was a barrage of message pop ups as text after text flooded the screen, sprinkled occasionally with a message notifying a missed call. They were all from Rin and for the first time that morning, relief spread through Sousuke like a welcoming blanket. He flipped through a couple of the messages, enough to glean that Rin already knew of the situation and was in fact on his way over to him at the moment, before he handed the phone back to Haru who was looking increasingly agitated. “Read these.” Sousuke said without fanfare. Without breaking his steady, searching gaze on Sousuke, Haru took the phone. Sousuke raised an eyebrow expectantly and Haru looked down to read. With each subsequent message, Sousuke watched as Haru’s eyes widened until finally, he looked up straight at Sousuke, grimaced and took a large step back.

“Give me Makoto back.” Haru demanded darkly. Sousuke fought the urge to roll his eyes, before replying sarcastically.

“I would if I could because I’m certainly having a fantastic time in your boyfriend’s body.” The horrified look on Haru’s face, Sousuke had to admit, was an amusing spectacle. “Enough of this.” Sousuke sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Rin said they’re coming right? They should be here soon. Let’s go to the station.”

 

* * *

 

“It hurts quite a bit, you know.”

Rin looked up as they walked together towards Makoto and Haru’s houses. “What?” Makoto gestured vaguely to his, to Sousuke’s, right shoulder. Rin’s eyes widened. “Does it really?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah…” Makoto said quietly, knowing this might not be the best thing to say, that this was treading on private territory. “I didn’t quite notice it at first because of everything but…it’s been throbbing pretty badly during the train ride. I’m sure he usually does some rehab exercises for it that I didn’t do…” Makoto began to panic at the tears that had suddenly welled up in Rin’s eyes. “Oh god, oh no, Rin, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“It’s fine.” Rin bit out, roughly wiping the back of his hands across his eyes. “I’m glad you told me. Stupid bastard wouldn’t have said anything otherwise. Idiot’s too selfless for his own good, the moron.”

“I’m sure he just doesn’t want you to worry, Rin.”  
“I know that! You think I don’t know that?”  Rin sighed in frustration and raked a hand through his hair. “I know he doesn’t want me to worry but I can’t help but worry and I can tell he downplays the pain he feels for my sake but it just makes me MORE anxious!” Rin’s hands fell to his sides and he flexed them, wanting desperately to reach out and take those familiar warm and large calloused hands into his own, to feel their fingers lace easily together as if was the most natural thing in the world. But it wasn’t Sousuke with him right then, it was Makoto, even if he was in Sousuke’s body, and it wouldn’t be fair to either of them if he did something like that. He only sighed again and shoved his fists into his pockets. “We agreed that we would work through it together, but even still he doesn’t always give me the whole truth. I just wish he’d be a little more honest with me.” Rin didn’t dare look back at the other walking beside him, he knew what kind of look Makoto would wear and he couldn’t bear to see it on Sousuke’s face instead.

“Rin look!” Makoto suddenly said after a drawn out moment of silence.

“Hn?” Rin look up to see two familiar figures walking towards them.

“It’s Haru! And well…me, I guess?” Rin had to swallow a laugh. It was comical how wide of a berth Haru gave the Makoto walking towards them and any doubt that Sousuke might actually NOT be in Makoto’s body was immediately extinguished.

“Yo, Haru.” Rin greeted when they convened on the side of the road. “And…” Rin turned to the Makoto standing bit a ways beside him, “Sousuke?” And even though Makoto was usually always smiling, the smile that split this Makoto’s face couldn’t have looked more wrong because Rin immediately recognized it as _Sousuke’s_ smile. Relief spread through him. “Oh thank god. At least everyone’s HERE…even though things were switched around a bit…” He trailed off when he noticed Haru glowering at Sousuke’s body, whose hands were raised in a placating gesture as he smiled in that distinct Makoto manner. The image couldn’t look more wrong that Rin openly grimaced.

“Now, now Haru, it’s me, alright? Even though I’m in Sousuke’s body, it’s still me, Makoto!” Haru didn’t grace him a response, only directed his glare right at Rin.

“Fix this.” He demanded, voice clipped with barely concealed rage. Rin blinked, instinctively looked over and shared a brief glance with Sousuke in Makoto’s body. Then for the first time that day, he burst out laughing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa has some ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sob sorry this took so long honestly, I have no idea how to resolve this fic but it's still going along guess haha  
> un-beta'd so sorry for typos

“Alright, alright!” Rin huffed when he finally caught his breath. “First we need to think about what could have possibly caused this.”

“Maybe we should give Nagisa a call?” Makoto asked. The question, asked in such a timid and uncertain manner that clashed with the deep timber of Sousuke’s voice, made everyone wince.  
“Nagisa?” Rin wondered in bewilderment. “Why the hell would Nagisa be any help?”

“I don’t know…he seems like he’d be the type to know about something like this.” There was a moment of silence as they all considered the revelation.

“You’re right.” Rin muttered. Sousuke uttered a snort that startled Haru so much seeing it coming from Makoto’s visage that he physically turned away to recover. Rin rolled his eyes, already taking out his phone to dial Nagisa’s number.

“RIN-CHAN!” Rin winced and held his cell phone at arms length at the excited cry. “It’s been awhile! How are things? Are you doing ok? Swimming lots? How’s Sou-chan? How are you AND Sou-chan? Have you been speaking with Mako-chan and Haru-chan lately?” A simultaneous pained, yet grudgingly fond, look was shared among the group at the barrage of questions.

“Nagisa,” Rin said stoutly into the receiver, “I have a question to ask you.”  
“Oh? Ask away~”

“Do you know how…body switching could happen?”

“Body switching? You mean like they do in movies? Hmm…I don’t know. Why do you ask, Rin-chan?” Biting his lip, Rin debating whether he should tell the excitable junior of their predicament. Rin automatically looked at Sousuke’s body that Makoto was now flailing around making desperate crosses into the air signaling him to _not tell Nagisa the exact details._ Deciding that, really, there wasn’t anything else they could do, he threw caution to the wind.

“We have a bit of a problem. Sousuke and Makoto switched bodies.” Too late, Rin thought wryly as he waited for a response. There was a beat of silence and Rin instinctively held the phone as far away from his ear as his arm physically allowed.

“REALLY?!?!” Came the excited cry, tinny through the receiver. “Are you serious, Rin-chan? Mako-chan and Sou-chan. Oh my god that must be SO FUNNY. I need to see this. Where are you now? Rei-chan and I will find you immediately-“  
“Ok ok, alright alright, that’s fine!” Rin cut in before Nagisa could get too absorbed. “Do what you want but Nagisa we need to know if you know ANYTHING about this all. We need to fix this.” Rin hoped the desperation in his voice wasn’t as obvious to everyone else as it was to him.

“Hmm…” came the thoughtful hum. Rin waited expectantly, clinging to the tiny sliver of hope that _maybe_ things would work out easily. “Sorry, Rin-chan, I don’t think-AH!” All four of the group jolted at the exclamation. “That fortuneteller!” Makoto and Sousuke glanced at each other in confusion.

“Fortuneteller…?” Rin asked apprehensively.

“Yeah! You remember when we went to the carnival in town a couple weeks ago? That fortuneteller?” A spark of anger crackled through Rin.

“This isn’t a joke, Nagisa!” He barked into his cell. “How the fuck can that crazy old hag have done anything? Plus that was TWO WEEKS ago. Why would something happen only NOW?”

“Then I’ve got nothing, Rin-chan, sorry.” Nagisa sounded genuinely apologetic. Rin groaned and shot a glance at the other three.

“Fine, we’ll go see if she’s still there.” He muttered in resignation.

“Ooooh, we’ll come too! Are you going now? We’ll meet you there.”

“Yeah sure, whatever.” Rin hung up.

* * *

 

“Do you really thing she’ll help?” Rin smacked Makoto’s hands.

“Stop fidgeting! Seeing Sousuke fidget like that is really unsettling.”

“Sorry…” Rin groaned and shot a look behind him at Haru walking with Sousuke in Makoto’s body. Or rather, Haru was avoiding walking with him. Sousuke, in the meanwhile, had Makoto’s face twisted in an expression of such disturbance at seeing Makoto manipulate his body in such a way that Rin had to bite back a laugh. It was such a Sousuke-like expression.

The carnival was packed with people, mostly children tugging their parents along with loud excited squeals. Rin thought back to their visit here two weeks ago, at Nagisa’s insistence. _Let’s make it a TRIPLE DATE._ He had declared enthusiastically. To his credit, it actually had been a fun day. At least it was until Nagisa convinced them to visit the fortuneteller’s tent. Rin and Rei had teamed up to very vocally express their skepticism. Rei repeatedly pointed out the flaws in the old woman’s logic, much to everyone’s amusement. The encounter had ended in the six of them being kicked out. In retrospect, it had been hilarious but it never occurred to any of them that something anywhere close to their situation would happen. Speaking of, if it had been because of the fortuneteller, why wasn’t Rei affected? Rin frowned at the realization.

“Rin, what’s wrong?” Rin looked up to see Makoto’s face peering at him in concern. But, the small twist of his mouth was all Sousuke. Rin snorted.

“You mean aside from everything right now? No, I was just think-”

“RIN-CHAN! MAKO-CHAN! HARU-CHAN! SOU-CHAN!” The four turned towards the rapid barrage of painfully butchered nicknames to see a familiar blond figure barrel towards them while dragging along a stumbling Rei. “Is it really true?!?” Nagisa asked excitedly without waiting for a return in greeting. He instantly herded Makoto and Sousuke together to scrutinize them with an exaggerated critical look. Sousuke’s body fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze while Makoto’s face held a look of cool disinterest. Nagisa instantly grinned in absolute glee. “Rin-chan, Rin-chan, this is great! Look, doesn’t Mako-chan look so cool when he acts like Sou-chan?” Rin pressed his hand into his face.

“Nagisa-“

“AH, HARU-CHAN! Hey, Haru-chan are you mad?” With that he bounded off to cajole Haru. Rei stepped up to Rin, then.

“Hello, Rin-san.”

“Yo, Rei.” Rin greeted vaguely.

“This is a pretty troublesome situation.”

“You think?”

“Nagisa, didn’t give me time to look into things, but logically, this doesn’t make any sense.”

“Thanks, Rei.” Rin muttered with a tinge of bitterness.

“But, I’m sure we can figure this out in no time!” Rei stated confidently with a push of his glasses.

“Yeah, I hope so.”

* * *

 

They made their way to the fortuneteller tent. Rin hung back to keep Haru from drifting off too far while Rei desperately struggled to keep Nagisa from skipping off to find food. Makoto and Sousuke walked in silence a little ways ahead.

“Hey Haru.”  
“Hn.”

Rin shoved his hands into his pockets, fingers curling into fists.

“What should we do if…we can’t change them back?” Haru whipped his head around so quickly Rin winced as clear blue eyes pinned him with a determined look.

“We’ll change them back.” There was no room for argument in his tone. Rin let out a quiet laugh.

“Yeah, we will.”

* * *

 

Rin swore he was going to pop a vein from his temple right then and there. The tent was closed. No, closed would be an understatement. The tent was abandoned, stripped and gutted.

“Ah…guess this won’t work after all…” Makoto sighed. Haru visibly grimaced at Sousuke’s voice taking on Makoto’s tone. Rin let out a frustrated cry.

“Well NOW WHAT?” He griped, frustrated.

“Hey, hey.” Nagisa piped in placation. “It’s not so bad. Maybe it wasn’t the fortuneteller after all! I mean, remember? Rei-chan was also being rude to the fortuneteller-“

“I was not being rude!” Rei squawked indignantly. “Her logic was clearly very flawed-“

“AND he’s not swapped with someone.” Nagisa concluded over him. “So, it must have been something else.” Sousuke sighed heavily.

“Well, what could it be then?” He asked, losing hope quickly. Rin wrung his hands, fighting the urge to tear his hair out.

“How about we leave the carnival first?” Makoto suggest after a few moments of heavy silence. No one graced him with a reply. Rin only started to stalk in the direction of the exit, Sousuke trailing close behind him. The rest followed after.

* * *

 

 “AH!” Nagisa exclaimed and scurried excitedly to the front of the group. With a pointed finger thrust to the air, he declared, “True love’s kiss!”

“Hah?” Rin questioned, eyes narrowed over the lip of his water bottle. Nagisa nodded eagerly in accordance with his own genius.

“True love’s kiss will fix the problem!” Everyone stared at him in wary suspicion.

“Of course!” Rei interjected. “It’s worth a shot, right? In many fairy tales, a true love’s kiss will fix the issue. So, Rin-san will kiss Sousuke-san and Haru-senpai will kiss Makoto-senpai.” Rin dragged his hands down his face.

“Alright, sure, I guess that makes sense but just one thing.” He glowered. “Who the HELL should we kiss? Should am I supposed to kiss Sousuke in Makoto’s body or Makoto in Sousuke’s body? Because that makes it weird in either situation.”

“Well then...” Rei said. “I supposed you’ll have to try both?”

“Both!” Nagisa echoed with a grin.

“I’m not kissing Sousuke.” Haru stated resolutely with a hard stare.

“Nor would I want to kiss you, either, Haru.” Sousuke retorted without hesitation.

“Now, now,” Makoto said soothingly, “If it has to be done, it has to be done right? It’s just a kiss, not so bad right?” Rin was beginning to develop a serious headache. Makoto sighed when Haru only turned his head away in stubborn defiance. “In that case, Rin, do you think you could do both?” With a heavy sigh, Rin rubbed his neck.

“Yeah, whatever. It’s not like Haru’s going to be convinced anyway.”

“Sorry, Rin. Why don’t we go first then?” Rin shrugged.

Rin swallowed as he stepped up to Sousuke’s body. In that sense, it felt natural to go in for a kiss. But having the knowledge that it wasn’t _really_ Sousuke standing before him, made the whole ordeal awkward.

“Could you at least try and act like him?” He muttered when Makoto did that signature little shrug of his that looked so out of place on Sousuke’s usually squared shoulders.

“Ah…sorry…” Makoto apologized. “Should I uh…frown?” Rin snorted.

“Contrary to popular belief, Sousuke doesn’t actually frown 24/7.“ Makoto chuckled.

“I’m sure he doesn’t. He always looks the happiest when he’s with you.” Rin flushed hot at this. He prayed Sousuke over in Makoto’s body didn’t see it because he’d definitely get an earful later.

“Shut up.” He mumbled. “Let’s just get this over with.” He grabbed Sousuke’s jacket by the lapels and pulled Makoto down for a kiss.

Sousuke was proud to say that he and Rin looked damned good together as he watched Rin tug his body down for a kiss, but the bizarre out of body experience of not actually _doing the kissing_ and knowing that it was actually _Makoto_ kissing his boyfriend still made his stomach twist painfully. A glance to his side showed Haru averting his eyes.

The familiar press of Sousuke’s lips against his own made it easy to nearly melt entirely into the kiss. Rin instinctively pressed for more, until those lips began to move against his own and suddenly it felt _wrong_. Then he remembered that it wasn’t actually Sousuke he was kissing. They remained together for moment longer before Rin pulled back and stared straight back at familiar teal eyes. Sousuke’s cheeks were dusted pink.

“Sou…suke?” Rin chanced hesitantly in faint hope. Sousuke sighed then shook his head.

“No, it’s still me. Makoto.” He said. Rin fought the urge to slump as his stomach dropped in dismay.

“Well, onto the next one then.” And he stepped towards Sousuke standing in Makoto’s body.

Sousuke couldn’t help but smirk slightly. “Did you enjoy yourself?” Rin only glowered at him.

“This is so weird.” He mumbled as he stepped into Sousuke-in-Makoto’s personal space.

“Hey, it’s still me. Just pretend.”

“No matter what you say, I’m still kissing Makoto.” Rin’s neck prickled and a glance to his left showed Haru pinning him with dark glare. He fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Relax, Haru. I’m not trying to steal your boyfriend. Unless you want to do it instead.” Haru’s eyes narrowed slightly and he looked away again with a huff. Rin shrugged and looked up at Makoto’s face.

He’d be lying if he said he never found Makoto attractive. Frankly, before Sousuke re-entered his life, he might have even fantasized a little bit though never beyond that as he knew it wasn’t fair to Haru. He had a type and Makoto just happened to fit it. Compared to Sousuke, he was probably just an inch shorter and slightly less built, though his facial features were finer.

“You’re a bit less resistant to this than I’d like you to be.” Rin refocused at the words. Makoto peered down at him with Sousuke’s smirk. Rin did roll his eyes this time.

“Shut up. You don’t have to get jealous, you idiot.”

“Will you two stop flirting and get on with it.” Rin directed his middle finger in Haru’s general direction before leaning up to press his lips to Makoto’s.

Makoto’s lips were fuller than he was used to and pliant to his touch. He pressed in for a moment more and moved to pull away only to be thwarted by a hand holding him in place at the small of his back. Suddenly, _oh god_ , Makoto’s lips were kissing him like _Sousuke_. His breath became short and his head started to spin as he was pulled deeper and deeper into the kiss until-

Rin stumbled as he was yanked back by the arm and he looked up at to see Haru glare first at him and then at Sousuke who at least had the sense to look embarrassed. For the first time that day, Makoto’s body language looked like himself.

“Sorry…” Sousuke mumbled, hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. “I got a bit carried away.” Makoto-in-Sousuke looked rather uncomfortably stiff himself. Rin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he tugged his other arm from Haru’s grip.  
“I guess it was no good then.” He mused in disappointment.

“Well it was worth a shot, right?” Rei said with an unhelpful shrug.

“Alright then!” Nagisa quipped. “What if you had se-“

“VETOED.” Interrupted Rin before he could finish. Nagisa pouted.

“Well…” Rei began. “I supposed if we go along the same lines of kissing…maybe Makoto-senpai and Sousuke-san can kiss each other?” An irritated tic formed in Rin’s eyebrow.

“What the hell is with you two and all of us kissing each other? Are you trying to break us up or something?” He muttered sourly.

“No! That isn’t the case at all! I just thought-“

“Well I’m not doing it anyway.” Sousuke stated. He pointed to his body. “I’d essentially be kissing myself and that is beyond weird.” Makoto sighed loudly, making Sousuke’s shoulders slump. He winced when his right one twanged painfully.

“Sousuke…you usually do some rehab exercises for your shoulder right? I didn’t do them since I didn’t know and…well it’s beginning to hurt a bit.” Sousuke looked over sharply and then quickly glanced at Rin who only met his gaze steadily.

“Don’t you try and deny it, Sousuke.” Rin said. “Help him. Let’s call it a day for now.” Sousuke sighed in an attempt to dispel the anxiety building within him. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Makoto would mention his injury.

“Rin-“ Rin wouldn’t have any of it.

“We’ll talk later, once we’ve figured this all out.”

“Right.” Sousuke clicked his tongue and padded over to where Makoto stood with his body.

“Hey, let’s grab go grab some lunch, then!” Nagisa called from where he now gripped Haru by the arm.

The group left in low spirits.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions are high and they only get higher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL HELLO THERE, IT'S BEEN A WHILE FOR THIS FIC.
> 
> Yeah, ok, yell at me if you will. Honestly, I had no idea where I was taking this fic when I conceived it months ago, so I put it aside without any REAL intention of finishing it, until one day I was HIT with the idea to finish and SO GUESS WHAT, I'M CONTINUING THIS FIC. I HAVE AN ENDING AND IT WILL HAPPEN. So, I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> Un-beta'd so sorry for any missed typos and grammar mistakes!

“Here.”

Rin looked up to the cup of steaming tea presented before him. Haru watched him from beyond it, his endless blue eyes schooled to their usual impassiveness. Nevertheless, Rin recognized the slight furrow in his brow, a silent but distinct sign of distress.

“Thanks.” Rin mumbled as he took the cup. But he didn’t drink it, only cradled it in his hands, taking slight comfort its warmth. Haru settled across from him on the chabudai* after setting out the rest of the tea. It was just the two of them, as Nagisa and Rei had parted ways with them after dinner.

They sat in silence as the sun began to set, illuminating Haru’s living room with a soft orange glow. “Haru—“

“Rin.” Haru quipped before he could speak. “We will fix it.” Rin’s grip around his cup tightened, ready to retort as anxiety and frustration welled up within him when he was interrupted by a muffled cry from further in the house. Rin looked sharply in the direction of the bathroom, where Sousuke and Makoto had disappeared to go over Sousuke’s shoulder rehab regiment as that was the only place Haru had a mirror. With a click of his tongue, Rin placed the untouched cup of tea onto the table and leaned on crossed arms. One hand crept up to tangle in his hair, fingers twisting the strands uneasily.

“We better.” He muttered darkly.

 

* * *

 

Makoto cried out as pain shot down his arm.

“Hush.” Sousuke near hissed into his ear. Makoto flinched at the harsh bite he didn’t know his own voice was capable of. “Rin might hear you.” Makoto squeezed his eyes shut at the tears that begun to prick at his eyes as Sousuke continue to push and tug at the joint.

“This is horrible, Sousuke!” The deep timber of Sousuke’s voice discordant with Makoto’s whimper. Sousuke switched positions and tugged his arm in a different way. “We knew you hurt your shoulder, but we didn’t know it was this bad. Were you hiding this pain the whole time? And yet you still swam during region-AH!” Sousuke didn’t reply immediately, only dug a thumb into a crevice that caused another jolt of pain to shoot through Makoto, making him grit his teeth. Sousuke released him then and the joint relaxed. Makoto let Sousuke’s arm swing limply to rest and the pain subsided significantly, almost vanishing entirely for a moment, before returning as a dull ache. He gingerly touched it.

“It feels much better…” he mumbled.

Sousuke turned away to wipe the residual muscle cream off his hands. “That’s generally what physical therapy is for.” Came the muttered reply. Makoto wasn’t sure how he felt about the way Sousuke made his body hunch into himself. “Those are all the exercises that should be done.” Sousuke continued without turning back to face him. “There’s a list on my desk if you forget them. There’s also some prescription painkillers in the back of the topmost drawer, if you need them. It can get…pretty bad at night.” Makoto couldn’t help but wring his unfamiliar hands.

“Sousuke…have you talked to Rin about this?” Makoto watched his own shoulders stiffen as Sousuke turned them away further.

“I’ve told him what I could.” Came the curt reply.

Makoto swallowed nervously. “He’s really worried, you know.” He continued quietly. “I know you’re trying not to burden him, I understand that, but I’m sure you know him much better than I do and you know how he is. He loves you very much and keeping something like this from him hurts him just as much—“

“Look, Makoto,” Sousuke cut in with a click of his tongue, “thanks for the advice, but this is between Rin and me. I don’t know what you’ve told him already and honestly, I can’t stop whatever else you tell him later.” Sousuke sighed deeply, shoulders slumping. “The last thing I want to do is hurt him. But since whatever choice I make will upset him, I’m choosing the one I think that will upset him less.” Makoto worried his lip as Sousuke continued, voice quieter. “He thinks I can come back, he said he’d wait. But I can’t. I don’t think I ever can. But telling him that…would make him cry again.” Makoto ducked his head then.

“So you’ll make him wait?” He asked softly. Sousuke squeezed his eyes shut. To hear his own voice reprimand him, made it sting so much more. “He’ll wait, Sousuke. You know he will. But he’s going to realize it himself, sooner or later and don’t you think that’ll just break his heart more?” Even if he wasn’t the one to make his body visibly flinch nor the one to work his jaw anxiously, Makoto felt the pain as if he had been. Sousuke still didn’t look at him, only turned and walked out the bathroom door.

“Let’s go. They’re still waiting for us.”

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Haru.”

“Hn.”

Rin regarded his friend from where he rested on the chabudai, head pillowed on his arms. Makoto and Sousuke’s silence for the past few minutes made him anxious so he sought to distract himself.

“Have you decided on what you’re planning to do when you graduate?” He was met with a whole different kind of silence. Rin surged to sit upright. “What the hell, Haru?” He exclaimed incredulously, sending Haru a scrutinizing look. “I thought that trip to Australia helped you figure things out? What are you being all wishy-washy again for?” Rin watched as Haru’s fingers stiffened around his own teacup. “Oi—“

“We’re back.”

The both of them look up quickly to Makoto and Sousuke entering the living room.

“Are you feeling better?” Rin asked, looking them over carefully, his previous concern forgotten. Makoto shrugged Sousuke’s broad shoulders and gave a little smile that didn’t belong.

“Much. The physical therapy really helped.” Despite the reassuring response, the uncanny sight still made Rin’s stomach twist. Sousuke, on the other hand, had Makoto’s body turned slightly away, hands shoved in his pockets as he stared at the ground somewhere off to the side. Rin immediately knew something was bothering him.

He tossed his hair with a final sigh.

“In that case, we should head back to the dorms. It’s getting late and we can’t miss curfew.”

“Er…how are we going to do this?” Makoto wondered.

“You’re coming with me.” Rin casually replied, getting to his feet. “It’d be weird if it wasn’t Sousuke who came back. As for Sousuke,” Sousuke looked up at his name, staring back at Rin with Makoto’s green eyes. “You’re going to stay overnight here with Haru. You’d probably make a mess of things if you tried to pretend to be Makoto at his house.”

“Ah, that’s smart.” Makoto praised thoughtfully. “It’s not strange for me to sleepover at Haru’s house every so often…Ah…but I’ll have to let my family know.” Suddenly, everyone’s gaze converged on Sousuke, who stared back for a long moment before giving a long resigned sigh.

 

* * *

 

“Tachibana residence!”

“Er—“ Sousuke responded eloquently before he sent Rin a pleading look that was only met with a poorly concealed snicker. Makoto looked sheepish and quietly mouthed “It’s Ran.”

“Onii-chan?!?” The voice immediately continued, before Sousuke could begin to articulate properly. “Onii-chan is that you?” The voice suddenly turned distant as Ran moved away to yell a “Momma! It’s Onii-chan!” There was a crackle of activity before another voice rang through the receiver.

“Makoto? Makoto, is that you?”

“Ah, yeah…” Sousuke replied uncertainly, trying to keep his tone as close to the real Makoto’s as possible. He was failing miserably, judging by Rin nearly doubled over in gasping laughter, Haru’s unimpressed look, and Makoto’s desperately encouraging gestures.

“Oh, thank goodness, you had me so worried!” Makoto’s mother fretted, though her voice was laced with relief. “You just disappeared this morning after saying you weren’t feeling well. I thought you might have gone to Haru-chan’s but he didn’t seem to answering his phone either. I assumed you’d gone out together or something, but you weren’t picking up your cell. Then you disappeared all day and completely missed dinner. It was so strange since you usually give a call if you’d be getting back late.”  
“Y-yeah, uhm, sorry…” Sousuke apologized suddenly feeling entirely overwhelmed.

“Makoto?” Makoto’s mother’s voice rang again with worry. “Are you feeling ok? You still don’t sound too good.”

“I’m fine, thanks er…mom.” Sousuke glared when Rin snorted loudly. Makoto looked rather resigned.

“Makoto, maybe you should just come home and rest. If you’re not feeling well, you don’t want to get Haru-chan sick, too.”

“Er, yeah, about that—“ The phone suddenly disappeared from his hand and Sousuke looked up to see Haru take the receiver and put it against his ear.

“Tachibana-san.” He walked out of the living room to continue speaking.

Sousuke slumped in his seat and dug his thumb and forefinger against his forehead. “Why couldn’t we have done that in the first place?” He muttered darkly.

Rin was still curled on the floor, laughing as tears pricked the corners of his eyes.

“Because I usually _am_ the one to call.” Makoto replied with a light sigh. “It’d be weird if it was just Haru, even if they trust him. Though I’m not really sure how much better this was…”

 

* * *

 

Rin was having a difficult time keeping his leg from bouncing incessantly at the anxiety within him. After Haru had returned from speaking with Makoto’s mother, Rin and Makoto had rushed out to catch the last train before the dorm’s curfew. They sat in silence as the train rumbled along the tracks; there were few passengers among them as the rush hour had long passed. Rin kept his hands clasped tight together as he desperately tried to ignore the heat of Sousuke’s body next to him because regardless of how it looked, Sousuke was not the one sitting next to him. Makoto sat in silence as well, looking thoughtfully at foreign fingers twisted in a foreign lap.

“Are you uhm…” Makoto started after a bit. “Are you excited to go back to Australia?” Rin sat back in his seat at the question, pushing his fingers through his hair as he willed his shoulders to relax.

“Yeah.” He replied. Rin wasn’t sure why it was so difficult to keep things casual. Sousuke was his boyfriend; Makoto was one of his closest friends. But having them mixed up, however, suddenly made things incredibly awkward and really fucking weird. “I am.”

“I’m surprised.” Makoto continued. “It doesn’t seem that…that place has many good memories for you.”

“Ah…” Rin couldn’t help but hunch over a bit. “I guess I told Haru about my time in Australia when we visited, but haven’t said much to you yet. There weren’t bad memories, per say…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Rin.”  
“No, it’s fine. I was a right ass to you guys when I came back, so it’s not surprising you guys assumed these things. I mean, it’s not like my explanation will justified what I did, but you should still know.” Rin shrugged. “I just hit a wall pretty early on while I was there, that’s all. I was a cocky little fucker who thought I could beat the world, only to have my pride get beaten down by reality. Then I was too much of a baby to get over it.” Rin smirked a bit when Makoto flinched at his harsh words.

“I never did get to thank you properly though, Makoto.”

Makoto made Sousuke’s eyes light up in surprise. “Thank me? Thank me for what?”

“For being you. For always being there. For helping Haru. For helping me.” Rin watched as Sousuke’s face gradually turned pink. He snickered. “It’s not often I get to see Sousuke blush like that.” Makoto jolted and covered his face and made a low lamenting noise, though the gesture just made the image more absurd.

“Sorry, Sousuke…” Makoto muttered to himself. Rin just laughed.

“Anyway, I mean it. I’m not just trying to get you to make Sousuke blush, as great as that is. You’ve done a lot and always for others…I’m really proud of you for making the decision to study in Tokyo.” Rin turned away with that, hand creeping up to rub sheepishly at the back of his neck. “Sorry, I’m telling you this now when you’re not even completely yourself.” Makoto chuckled lightly.

“It’s ok. It’s easier to talk since it’s Sousuke you’re looking at, right?” His observation made Rin’s face suddenly go hot. The effect was even worse when Makoto had Sousuke’s face smiling down at him like that. He turned away to hide his embarrassment.

“Don’t you dare tell him that.” He mumbled. Makoto only smiled again before settling back against his seat.

“Thanks, though, Rin. That really means a lot coming from you.”

 

* * *

 

It was dead silent in the house.

Sousuke sat by himself in the living room, not certain what he should do. The last time he had been at Haru’s house on his own was years ago, back in middle school. The place hadn’t changed over the years, though Sousuke had noticed this long before. He once asked Rin why Haru seemed to live alone most of the time and Rin had only shrugged and said Haru’s parents worked out of town. It was impressive, he had to admit, as the place was always tidy.

Sousuke looked up at the sound of footsteps to see Haru walk in with a small stack of clothes. He held it out for Sousuke to take. Sousuke stared at it.

“Makoto’s bit too big to fit your clothes, don’t you think?” He asked. Haru only gave him a flat stare before replying,

“They’re Makoto’s.”

Sousuke realized then how stupid of a question that was.

He took the clothes with mumbled thanks and went to change, once again minding Makoto’s modesty. As he moved to pull the shirt over his head, he instinctively flinched, body tensing for impending pain. But there was none. Yet, as his arms fell to rest by his side, not even the smallest twinge to plague him, he did not feel relief, only bitterness curling low and hot in the core of his gut.

Makoto was strong, Sousuke could tell even without occupying his body. But it was far more evident when he could feel it through the flex of the back muscles and the pull of an arm. With some extra training, Sousuke silently noted, Makoto could be a solid contender against him when he had been at his peak. Sousuke habitually rolled his shoulders and a pang of envy shot through him when it was met with little resistance and painless freedom.

“Don’t overwork him.”

Sousuke turned to Haru standing at the doorway.

“I’m not.” He replied curtly. “I’m just…testing things out.”

“Well don’t injure him.” The jab sent a strike of irritation shooting through Sousuke.

“Seriously, Nanase? I’m not going to hurt your boyfriend, alright? It’s not like I want to be stuck here either. I just—“ he clicked his tongue then, running a hand roughly through too-long hair. “Forget it.”

There was a heavy silence between them for a moment, before Haru stepped up and pushed a plastic cup with a toothbrush perched inside into Sousuke’s hands.

“They’re also Makoto’s.” He replied before Sousuke could say a word. Sousuke took them. He watched as Haru lingered a moment. “I’m sorry.” Haru said quietly before stepping back.

Sousuke snorted and turned away. “It’s fine.” He replied. “You’re stressed out about Makoto. I’m stressed out about being stuck like this. And it’s not like we get along all the time anyway.” Haru only nodded once in agreement.

“I’ll prepare the futon in the living room.”

“Thanks.”

 

* * *

  

“Hah…”

Makoto sighed in relief as Rin closed the dorm room door behind them. His heart had been flying at the thought of being discovered that he didn’t quite belong in the body he occupied. Keeping his face schooled into a stoic expression and giving only a nod when someone acknowledged him was far harder than he expected when his natural instinct was to smile and wave back. He almost did it at first, only for Rin to give him a frantic look, thus resulting in what he was sure was a very strangled expression. Luckily, the underclassmen who greeted them didn’t appear to notice when Rin cut in for the save.

“Good thing we didn’t meet Ai or Momo.” Rin said with another push of his hair. “They’d see through you in an instant. And since it’s Momo, the whole dorm would know in two seconds flat.” Makoto gave a weak laugh as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. Rin brushed past him to sit on the edge of the bed. His mind was getting used to the fact that he wasn’t talking to Sousuke even if his body stood before him and it was his voice that responded. It helped that Makoto was far more articulate and tended to pitch his voice softer.

“Ah...” He intoned after a thoughtful moment. “I suppose I should let you have the bottom bunk.”

“Is…is it not his usual?” Makoto wondered.

Rin shrugged. “His was actually the top bunk at first. But after I found out about his shoulder, I’ve been making him sleep on the bottom.” Makoto’s memory flashed to waking up that morning with Rin lying on top of him.

“It must be nice,” Makoto responded wistfully, “to be able to sleep together like that all the time.” He startled when Rin’s face suddenly turned a shade to match his hair.

“Yeah, it is nice.” Rin replied with a cough before Makoto could apologize for saying something weird. Makoto watched as Rin’s expression suddenly softened, though his eyes darkened with just a tinge of sadness. “He takes up too much space and I probably kick him a dozen times through the night, but it’s nice.”

Makoto wasn’t really sure how to respond to Rin’s sudden turn in mood.

But, Rin stood then, clearing his throat, and he swung around the bunk’s frame to climb up the ladder to the top. “Anyway, you take the bottom bunk.” He said. “It’ll be easier for you to get up if you need it.” Rin’s head disappeared over the railing. “Toothbrush and stuff are on his desk, the left one. Sleepwear is in the closet, on the left shelf over the hangers.” Makoto chuckled.

“I see you keep things as organized as always.” Rin peered down at him from the top bunk with pursed lips.

“Of course, this room would be a disaster if I let him throw things everywhere. I made that mistake with Ai last year. Granted, Sousuke isn’t as bad.”

Makoto only smiled again before moving to gather the things Rin listed out.

“You know, I’m surprised he had the top bunk at first. Isn’t Sousuke afraid of heights?” There was a loud snort before Rin barked out a laugh.

“Yeah, as long as he’s taller than it though, he’s fine. This here,” Rin patted the bed. fondly. “is probably his threshold.”

It was a relief for Makoto to see Rin relaxing a bit since earlier that day. The far lighter atmosphere they kept with their senseless conversation eased his own anxiety as well. But he wondered how Haru was holding up and his chest twisted a bit as he remembered how distressed Haru had looked the entire day. He wondered if Haru was taking a bath at the moment to feel better. A worried sigh escaped him as he moved to pull on Sousuke’s sleep shirt. He yelped, half in surprise, when a shot of pain zinged through his arm, tingling across his back.

“Sou—I mean, Makoto, are you alright?” Rin’s head appeared instant over the top bunk railing.

“Y-yeah, it’s fine, sorry.” Makoto replied, apologetically. “I just forgot about the shoulder…it felt much better after Sousuke helped with those stretches…” Makoto’s stomach sank as Rin’s brow furrowed again with worry. So much for the better mood. “But it should be ok! Sousuke said there’s prescription painkillers in his desk if I need them so—“

“Painkillers? It’s bad enough that he needs prescription painkillers?” Makoto stiffened immediately as he realized he probably just made everything far worse. Rin vanished again with a muttered “Fucking bastard.”

The air in the room was tense again and Makoto shifted uneasily.

“Rin—“

“Why won’t he tell me anything, Makoto?” Rin’s voice trembled from above. “Why doesn’t he trust me?”

“Rin, I’m sure that isn’t the case—“

“Then what is it? I know he doesn’t want me to worry but not knowing anything just makes it so much worse. I know that he’s the kind of idiot who doesn’t like to burden others, but we’re supposed to figure this out together, Makoto. That’s what people do when they’re together, right?” Makoto stayed silent, thinking quickly how to fix the deteriorating mess he had inadvertently caused. Rin continued on, as if the dam for his thoughts had been broken. “We’ve only got half of the school year left and I don’t want things to end. But every time I ask him what he thought he was going to do, he’d give a vague answer, maybe saying he’d work for his dad, but I can tell that’s not what he wants. And it hurts Makoto. I don’t want to lose him again. It took us five years to see each other after I royally fucked up and I don’t want to do that again.”

“Rin…have you talked to him about this?”

Rin sniffed, swallowing the lump that lodged in his throat. “I don’t want to bother him about it, you know? I feel so selfish wanting to study abroad, to reach towards my dream, and also have him with me when he can’t reach for his dream anymore. It’s like…it’s like I’m rubbing it in his face. And I don’t want to make his decisions for him. That’s not how we work. But we’re running out of time and I guess I’m just…scared.” Makoto worried his lip as Rin’s voice trailed off to a wobble.

“I’m jealous, sometimes.” The addition was quiet and Makoto looks up at the sliver of red and the line of a shoulder just visible over the railing. “Of you and Haru. How you understand each other so well, all the time.”

Makoto gave a small laugh at that, looking down to his feet, Sousuke’s feet, as a hand crept up to scratch at too short-cropped hair at his nape.

“I don’t think we understand each other as well as you think.”

Rin shot up at that, suddenly leaning far over the railing to peer at him. Makoto could just make out a slight red rim around his eyes.

“What do you mean by that, Makoto?” He asked in alarm, brow furrowed in worry. Makoto frowned to himself.

“It’s just…Haru’s been doing so much better since you took him to Australia but…I feel like he’s keeping something from me. He always looks like he has something to say…yet he won’t.”

“Have you asked him?” Rin wondered quietly. Makoto could only let a sad smile flit over his lips.

“You know how he is, Rin. He moves at his own pace and doesn’t like being rushed. I’m sure when he’s ready to say whatever it is, he will. I guess…I have the same concern as you. That maybe he can’t trust me with whatever it is…”

The bunk bed shifted as Rin rolled back away from the railing.

“You know that isn’t true, Makoto. Haru opens up to you more than anyone I have ever seen. He’s probably just being himself.”

Makoto chuckled. “Perhaps we should take our own advice, huh?”

Rin snorted. “Yeah.”

 

* * *

 

When Makoto woke up the next morning, he was still disappointed to see the metal grate of the bunk bed above him. He winced when Sousuke’s shoulder throbbed again and sat up with a sigh to gingerly massage it, imitating the movements Sousuke had showed him the day before. The bed above him creaked and he wondered if Rin was awake. He continued to lay there, hoping for the pain to subside just a bit so he could get up, but with every passing moment, the pain seemed to escalate. Makoto sincerely hoped that some day, Sousuke wouldn’t have to suffer from this any longer. To think that Sousuke was able to hide this pain so well, even from Rin, was incomprehensible for him. Though, Makoto supposed, he had always been a bit of an open book to his friends.

He stood up and the change in position eased the ache slightly. When he looked up, Rin was visible from the waist up as he sat staring at his hands in his lap.

“Good morning, Rin.” Makoto greeted. Rin only turned to face him with a puzzled frown, brow pulled into a slight furrow. “Rin? Is everything alright?” Makoto wondered, suddenly concerned at Rin’s uncharacteristic silence. The two of them stared at each other in silence until prickling realization crawled down Makoto’s spine.

“H-Haru…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I guess this is turning into even more of a mess than originally intended, but hey, more fun times, right?


End file.
